My last post was kind of depressing to the game itself. So I want to say something positive about it.

The best times of my life and I'm now 63 (what a bummer) I had in a pool room. Either dominating town champions on the road or listening to Grady Mathews and Jersey Red due there stand up comedy in downtown Houston at Lecue Club.

If there is a pool room that fits that critiera what a great place to spend a
weekend or two or three or four.

It was tough for me to hang out at the local pool rooms and have a family life so I stayed away, but I have always missed the pool room period.

If you had a problem you could just go to the pool room and tell Rodney or Jersey red or whomever and they would all help solve your problem after they busted you, LOL.

My last post was kind of depressing to the game itself. So I want to say something positive about it.

The best times of my life and I'm now 63 (what a bummer) I had in a pool room. Either dominating town champions on the road or listening to Grady Mathews and Jersey Red due there stand up comedy in downtown Houston at Lecue Club.

If there is a pool room that fits that critiera what a great place to spend a
weekend or two or three or four.

It was tough for me to hang out at the local pool rooms and have a family life so I stayed away, but I have always missed the pool room period.

If you had a problem you could just go to the pool room and tell Rodney or Jersey red or whomever and they would all help solve your problem after they busted you, LOL.

In 1960 I was a wannabee pool hustler with a pregnant wife at home and a $20 bill in his pocket. I had been playing snooker on a 5 x 10 for 8 years and was the biggest fish in my little pond outside Los Angeles and just starting to play a decent game of nine ball and a little one pocket. I was a run out machine playing snooker and local action was hard to come by.

I went to the current 24 hour action spot, The Wonder Bowl in Anaheim near Disneyland and got down with some 14 year old kid with a pocketful of $$ for $10 a game playing three red ball snooker. I got him stuck 18 games and was dying for him to quit because I wanted that $$ so bad. Instead he asked me to raise it. I did and started dogging it and he won 10 games in a row, sending me home broke.

I now knew I did not have what it took to make enough $$ to play pool for a living and got a job the next week.

My opponent was Richie Florence. We played again thirty years later at Hard Times in Bellflower right before he had a stroke. I told Richie he was the best friend I ever had and didn't even know it. He made me get a job.

At 76 years old I love pool more than ever and play one pocket 2/3 times a week and will play as long as I am competitive. Today is our once a month one pocket tournament at Hard Times in Sacramento, one of my favorite days of the month. $30 entry, race to two, double elimination. I will be there from noon til 2/3 in the morning and love every minute of it.

In 1960 I was a wannabee pool hustler with a pregnant wife at home and a $20 bill in his pocket. I had been playing snooker on a 5 x 10 for 8 years and was the biggest fish in my little pond outside Los Angeles and just starting to play a decent game of nine ball and a little one pocket. I was a run out machine playing snooker and local action was hard to come by.

I went to the current 24 hour action spot, The Wonder Bowl in Anaheim near Disneyland and got down with some 14 year old kid with a pocketful of $$ for $10 a game playing three red ball snooker. I got him stuck 18 games and was dying for him to quit because I wanted that $$ so bad. Instead he asked me to raise it. I did and started dogging it and he won 10 games in a row, sending me home broke.

I now knew I did not have what it took to make enough $$ to play pool for a living and got a job the next week.

My opponent was Richie Florence. We played again thirty years later at Hard Times in Bellflower right before he had a stroke. I told Richie he was the best friend I ever had and didn't even know it. He made me get a job.

At 76 years old I love pool more than ever and play one pocket 2/3 times a week and will play as long as I am competitive. Today is our once a month one pocket tournament at Hard Times in Sacramento, one of my favorite days of the month. $30 entry, race to two, double elimination. I will be there from noon til 2/3 in the morning and love every minute of it.

In 1960 I was a wannabee pool hustler with a pregnant wife at home and a $20 bill in his pocket. I had been playing snooker on a 5 x 10 for 8 years and was the biggest fish in my little pond outside Los Angeles and just starting to play a decent game of nine ball and a little one pocket. I was a run out machine playing snooker and local action was hard to come by.

I went to the current 24 hour action spot, The Wonder Bowl in Anaheim near Disneyland and got down with some 14 year old kid with a pocketful of $$ for $10 a game playing three red ball snooker. I got him stuck 18 games and was dying for him to quit because I wanted that $$ so bad. Instead he asked me to raise it. I did and started dogging it and he won 10 games in a row, sending me home broke.

I now knew I did not have what it took to make enough $$ to play pool for a living and got a job the next week.

My opponent was Richie Florence. We played again thirty years later at Hard Times in Bellflower right before he had a stroke. I told Richie he was the best friend I ever had and didn't even know it. He made me get a job.

At 76 years old I love pool more than ever and play one pocket 2/3 times a week and will play as long as I am competitive. Today is our once a month one pocket tournament at Hard Times in Sacramento, one of my favorite days of the month. $30 entry, race to two, double elimination. I will be there from noon til 2/3 in the morning and love every minute of it.

John,
I was told very early on, "If you wanta get good at this game, quit yer job and get a divorce!" I worked until 2005, went to college and got a degree in industrial electronics, went on disability in 2011 and formally retired last year at 65. And, I've been married 45 years!!

In 1960 I was a wannabee pool hustler with a pregnant wife at home and a $20 bill in his pocket. I had been playing snooker on a 5 x 10 for 8 years and was the biggest fish in my little pond outside Los Angeles and just starting to play a decent game of nine ball and a little one pocket. I was a run out machine playing snooker and local action was hard to come by.

I went to the current 24 hour action spot, The Wonder Bowl in Anaheim near Disneyland and got down with some 14 year old kid with a pocketful of $$ for $10 a game playing three red ball snooker. I got him stuck 18 games and was dying for him to quit because I wanted that $$ so bad. Instead he asked me to raise it. I did and started dogging it and he won 10 games in a row, sending me home broke.

I now knew I did not have what it took to make enough $$ to play pool for a living and got a job the next week.

My opponent was Richie Florence. We played again thirty years later at Hard Times in Bellflower right before he had a stroke. I told Richie he was the best friend I ever had and didn't even know it. He made me get a job.

At 76 years old I love pool more than ever and play one pocket 2/3 times a week and will play as long as I am competitive. Today is our once a month one pocket tournament at Hard Times in Sacramento, one of my favorite days of the month. $30 entry, race to two, double elimination. I will be there from noon til 2/3 in the morning and love every minute of it.

John,

Sometimes I find it startling to read your stories. I bet many of us all over this country have backgrounds founded in the sixties (when pool was a big deal) that kind of parallel your experience, at least to some degree.

In 1969 I was just married, wife was pregnant, and I thought I was pretty damn good in my little pond. I was soon to graduate from Purdue and maybe was foolishly contemplating pursuing trying to make money playing pool or going to work starting a career.

My playing partner/adversary for a short while was Dick Weaver at a 24hr bowling alley called Stardust in Indiana. Dick went on to play some professional pool and did some road work throughout his life.

I ultimately decided to pursue a career in business, and I only perodically played pool over the last fifty years. But, having retired five years ago, I play more pool now than I ever did, and exclusively One pocket.

My only regret is I coulda enjoyed more 1P for many more years. I also was introduced to Golf on a snooker table and played and loved that for maybe eight years.

__________________The early bird may get the worm...but the second mouse gets the cheese...Shutin@urholeisOVERATED.